diff --git a/src/channel-header.tsx b/src/channel-header.tsx
index a18a614..4a26679 100644
--- a/src/channel-header.tsx
+++ b/src/channel-header.tsx
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ export class ChannelHeaderViewModel extends Model {
   @fromObservable selectedChannel: ChannelBase;
   @fromObservable channelInfo: Channel;
   @fromObservable members: Array<string>;
-  @fromObservable topic: string;
+  @fromObservable topic: { value: string};
   @fromObservable isDrawerOpen: boolean;
   toggleDrawer: Action<boolean>;
 
@@ -32,7 +32,21 @@ export class ChannelHeaderViewModel extends Model {
     when(this, x => x.selectedChannel)
       .filter(c => !!c)
       .switchMap(c => this.store.channels.listen(c.id, c.api))
+      .do(x => console.log(`New ChannelInfo! ${JSON.stringify(x)}`))
       .toProperty(this, 'channelInfo');
+
+    // NB: This works but it's too damn clever
+    this.innerDisp.add(when(this, x => x.channelInfo)
+      .filter(x => x && !x.topic)
+      .subscribe(x => this.store.channels.listen(x.id, x.api).invalidate()));
+
+    when(this, x => x.channelInfo.members)
+      .startWith([])
+      .toProperty(this, 'members');
+
+    when(this, x => x.channelInfo.topic)
+      .startWith({value: ''})
+      .toProperty(this, 'topic');
   }
 }
 
@@ -52,7 +66,7 @@ export class ChannelHeaderView extends SimpleView<ChannelHeaderViewModel> {
       tabs.push(
         <Tab
           key='members'
-          label={`Members: ${this.viewModel.channelInfo.members.length}`}
+          label={`Members: ${this.viewModel.members.length}`}
           style={tabStyle}
         />
       );
@@ -60,7 +74,7 @@ export class ChannelHeaderView extends SimpleView<ChannelHeaderViewModel> {
       tabs.push(
         <Tab
           key='topic'
-          label={this.viewModel.channelInfo.topic.value}
+          label={this.viewModel.topic.value}
           style={tabStyle}
         />
       );
diff --git a/src/lib/models/api-shapes.ts b/src/lib/models/api-shapes.ts
index 6ff495f..e43b5af 100644
--- a/src/lib/models/api-shapes.ts
+++ b/src/lib/models/api-shapes.ts
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ export interface Message {
 
   ephemeral_msg_type: number; // based on EphemeralMsgType.id
 
-  user?: string; // nullable userId
+  user?: string | User; // nullable userId
   username: string;
   topic: string;
   purpose: string;
diff --git a/src/lib/sparse-map.ts b/src/lib/sparse-map.ts
index 6068d57..c2c8017 100644
--- a/src/lib/sparse-map.ts
+++ b/src/lib/sparse-map.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { Observable } from 'rxjs/Observable';
-import { Updatable } from './updatable';
+import { Updatable, MergeStrategy } from './updatable';
 
 import './standard-operators';
 
@@ -48,10 +48,12 @@ export class SparseMapMixins {
 class InMemorySparseMap<K, V> implements SparseMap<K, V> {
   private _latest: Map<K, Updatable<V>>;
   private _factory: ((key: K, hint?: any) => Observable<V>) | undefined;
+  private _strategy: MergeStrategy;
 
-  constructor(factory: ((key: K, hint?: any) => Observable<V>) | undefined = undefined) {
+  constructor(factory: ((key: K, hint?: any) => Observable<V>) | undefined = undefined, strategy: MergeStrategy = 'overwrite') {
     this._latest = new Map();
     this._factory = factory;
+    this._strategy = strategy;
   }
 
   listen(key: K, hint?: any): Updatable<V> {
@@ -60,9 +62,9 @@ class InMemorySparseMap<K, V> implements SparseMap<K, V> {
 
     if (this._factory) {
       let fact = this._factory.bind(this);
-      ret = new Updatable<V>(() => fact(key, hint));
+      ret = new Updatable<V>(() => fact(key, hint), this._strategy);
     } else {
-      ret = new Updatable<V>();
+      ret = new Updatable<V>(undefined, this._strategy);
     }
 
     this._latest.set(key, ret);
@@ -94,6 +96,7 @@ class InMemorySparseMap<K, V> implements SparseMap<K, V> {
   invalidate(key: K): Promise<void> {
     let val = this._latest.get(key);
     if (val) {
+      // Release whatever subscription val's playOnto is holding currently
       val.playOnto(Observable.empty());
       this._latest.delete(key);
     }
diff --git a/src/lib/standard-operators.ts b/src/lib/standard-operators.ts
index 4534414..b7baffc 100644
--- a/src/lib/standard-operators.ts
+++ b/src/lib/standard-operators.ts
@@ -17,4 +17,5 @@ import 'rxjs/add/operator/retry';
 import 'rxjs/add/operator/startWith';
 import 'rxjs/add/operator/switch';
 import 'rxjs/add/operator/switchMap';
-import 'rxjs/add/operator/takeUntil';
\ No newline at end of file
+import 'rxjs/add/operator/takeUntil';
+import 'rxjs/add/operator/throttleTime';
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/updatable.ts b/src/lib/updatable.ts
index cbcd4d0..5ac0976 100644
--- a/src/lib/updatable.ts
+++ b/src/lib/updatable.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { Subject } from 'rxjs/Subject';
 import './standard-operators';
 
 export type Pair<K, V> = { Key: K, Value: V };
+export type MergeStrategy = 'overwrite' | 'merge';
 
 export class Updatable<T> extends Subject<T> {
   private _value: T;
@@ -15,12 +16,21 @@ export class Updatable<T> extends Subject<T> {
   private _factory: () => Observable<T>;
   private _playOnto: SerialSubscription;
 
-  constructor(factory?: () => Observable<T>) {
+  constructor(factory?: () => Observable<T>, strategy?: MergeStrategy) {
     super();
 
     this._hasPendingValue = false;
     this._factory = factory ? factory : () => Observable.empty();
     this._playOnto = new SerialSubscription();
+
+    switch (strategy || 'overwrite') {
+    case 'overwrite':
+      this.next = this.nextOverwrite;
+      break;
+    case 'merge':
+      this.next = this.nextMerge;
+      break;
+    }
   }
 
   get value(): T {
@@ -40,7 +50,6 @@ export class Updatable<T> extends Subject<T> {
 
     let shouldNext = true;
     if (!this._hasPendingValue) {
-      this._hasPendingValue = true;
       this.playOnto(this._factory());
       shouldNext = false;
     }
@@ -52,14 +61,21 @@ export class Updatable<T> extends Subject<T> {
     return subscription;
   }
 
-  next(value: T): void {
+  nextOverwrite(value: T): void {
     this._hasPendingValue = true;
     super.next(this._value = value);
   }
 
+  nextMerge(value: T): void {
+    this._hasPendingValue = true;
+    this._value = Object.assign(this._value || {}, value || {});
+    super.next(this._value);
+  }
+
   invalidate() {
     this._hasPendingValue = false;
-    this._playOnto.set(Subscription.EMPTY);
+    this._value = undefined;
+    this.playOnto(this._factory());
   }
 
   playOnto(source: Observable<T>) {
diff --git a/src/lib/utils.ts b/src/lib/utils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..721e0a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/utils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+export function isObject(o: any): boolean {
+  return o === Object(o);
+}
+
+export function isFunction(o: any): boolean {
+  return !!(o && o.constructor && o.call && o.apply);
+};
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/lib/when.ts b/src/lib/when.ts
index c877b75..95ffea6 100644
--- a/src/lib/when.ts
+++ b/src/lib/when.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { Observable } from 'rxjs/Observable';
 import { ChangeNotification, Model, TypedChangeNotification } from './model';
+import { isFunction, isObject } from './utils';
 
 import * as LRU from 'lru-cache';
 import { Updatable } from './updatable';
@@ -8,14 +9,6 @@ const proxyCache = LRU(64);
 
 import './standard-operators';
 
-function isObject(o: any): boolean {
-  return o === Object(o);
-}
-
-function isFunction(o: any): boolean {
-  return !!(o && o.constructor && o.call && o.apply);
-};
-
 const identifier = /^[$A-Z_][0-9A-Z_$]*$/i;
 
 export function whenPropertyInternal(target: any, valueOnly: boolean, ...propsAndSelector: Array<string|Function|string[]>): Observable<any> {
diff --git a/src/store.ts b/src/store.ts
index 4ac8759..f4af351 100644
--- a/src/store.ts
+++ b/src/store.ts
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { asyncMap } from './lib/promise-extras';
 import { isChannel, isGroup, isDM } from './channel-utils';
 
 import './lib/standard-operators';
-import 'rxjs/Observable/dom/webSocket';
+import 'rxjs/add/observable/dom/webSocket';
 
 export type ChannelList = Array<Updatable<ChannelBase|null>>;
 
@@ -26,21 +26,31 @@ export class Store {
 
     this.channels = new InMemorySparseMap<string, ChannelBase>((channel, api: Api) => {
       return this.infoApiForModel(channel, api)();
-    });
+    }, 'merge');
 
     this.users = new InMemorySparseMap<string, User>((user, api: Api) => {
       return api.users.info({ user }).map(({ user }: { user: User }) => {
         user.api = api;
         return user;
       });
-    });
+    }, 'merge');
 
     this.joinedChannels = new Updatable<ChannelList>(() => Observable.of([]));
 
     this.events = new InMemorySparseMap<EventType, Message>();
     this.events.listen('user_change')
-      .do(({user}) => console.log(`Updating a user!!! ${JSON.stringify(user)}`))
-      .subscribe(({user}) => this.users.listen(user.id).playOnto(Observable.of(user)));
+      .subscribe(msg => this.users.listen((msg.user! as User).id, msg.api).playOnto(Observable.of(msg.user)));
+
+    // NB: This is the lulzy way to update channel counts when marks
+    // change, but we should definitely remove this code later
+    let somethingMarked = Observable.merge(
+      this.events.listen('channel_marked'),
+      this.events.listen('im_marked'),
+      this.events.listen('group_marked')
+    );
+
+    somethingMarked.throttleTime(3000)
+      .subscribe(x => this.fetchSingleInitialChannelList(x.api));
 
     this.connectToRtm()
       .groupBy(x => x.type)
@@ -51,8 +61,10 @@ export class Store {
 
   connectToRtm(): Observable<Message> {
     return Observable.merge(
-      ...this.api.map(x => this.createRtmConnection(x))
-    );
+      ...this.api.map(x => this.createRtmConnection(x).retry(5).catch(e => {
+        console.log(`Failed to connect via token ${x} - ${e.message}`);
+        return Observable.empty();
+      })));
   }
 
   async fetchInitialChannelList(): Promise<void> {
@@ -86,7 +98,8 @@ export class Store {
 
   private makeUpdatableForModel(model: ChannelBase & Api, api: Api) {
     model.api = api;
-    const updater = new Updatable(this.infoApiForModel(model.id, api));
+
+    const updater = this.channels.listen(model.id, api);
     updater.playOnto(Observable.of(model));
     return updater;
   }
diff --git a/test/lib/sparse-map-spec.ts b/test/lib/sparse-map-spec.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16bbca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/lib/sparse-map-spec.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+import { Observable } from 'rxjs/Observable';
+
+import { MergeStrategy } from '../../src/lib/updatable';
+import { InMemorySparseMap, SparseMap } from '../../src/lib/sparse-map';
+import { TestClass, expect } from '../support';
+
+export type ValueFactoryFunction =
+  ((key: string, hint?: any) => Observable<Object>);
+export type CreateFixtureFunction =
+  ((factory: ValueFactoryFunction, strategy: MergeStrategy) => SparseMap<string, Object>);
+
+function testsForClass(Klass: Function, createFixture: CreateFixtureFunction) {
+  const name = Klass.name;
+
+  describe(`The ${name} class interface implementation`, function() {
+    it ('smoke tests successfully', function() {
+      let fixture = createFixture(() => Observable.of(new TestClass()), 'overwrite');
+
+      let result = fixture.listen('foo');
+      expect((result.value as TestClass).derived).to.equal(42);
+    });
+
+    it ('creates Updatables with Merge Strategy semantics', function() {
+      let fixture = createFixture(() => Observable.of({a: 1}), 'merge');
+
+      let result = fixture.listen('foo');
+      expect(result.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1});
+
+      result.next({b: 2});
+      expect(result.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1, b: 2});
+    });
+  });
+}
+
+testsForClass(InMemorySparseMap, (factory, strategy) => {
+  return new InMemorySparseMap(factory, strategy);
+});
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/test/lib/updatable-spec.ts b/test/lib/updatable-spec.ts
index 043ec0a..c2e8891 100644
--- a/test/lib/updatable-spec.ts
+++ b/test/lib/updatable-spec.ts
@@ -105,4 +105,29 @@ describe('The Updatable class', function() {
     fixture.subscribe(x => latest = x);
     expect(latest).to.equal(42);
   });
+
+  it('shallow merges objects when used with the merge strategy', function() {
+    let fixture = new Updatable<Object>(() => Observable.of({a: 1}), 'merge');
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1});
+
+    fixture.next({b: 2});
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1, b: 2});
+
+    fixture.next({a: 5});
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 5, b: 2});
+  });
+
+  it('drops the current value on invalidate', function() {
+    let fixture = new Updatable<Object>(() => Observable.of({a: 1}), 'merge');
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1});
+
+    fixture.next({b: 2});
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1, b: 2});
+
+    fixture.next({a: 5});
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 5, b: 2});
+
+    fixture.invalidate();
+    expect(fixture.value).to.deep.equal({a: 1});
+  });
 });
\ No newline at end of file